Recently for Bedsider.org– I asked: How is our bad economy affecting our dating and sex lives?

The fact is, most of us are watching our bottom line. And that means coming up with creative things to do on a date that stay within our decreasing budget. As a single gal myself, I can definitely relate that! However, I believe there are still a few dating no-nos both men and woman should avoid–no matter how bad the economy gets.To prove my point I took to Twitter to find bad cheap-first-date stories. It wasn’t hard.

1) @shelbel99: A guy took me to his family barbecue on a date. His big dog immediately sniffed my crotch & his dad said – just like my son hey boy?

A family gathering may seem like an inexpensive way to feed and show your date they’re special, but it may cost you in other ways. No one wants to have to be nice to your family members while they’re trying to figure out if they even like you yet. And we all know we can’t control those inevitable embarrassing family moments, which can easily make a date run for the hills.

2) @drawinbreath: Met guy on web, went to his house, it smelled like old man. He sang me folk songs on his guitar, I pretended to fall asleep.

No matter how tough the economy is, there is absolutely no reason to go to a person’s house on the first date! Especially if you met them over the Internet. There are tons of public spaces that don’t cost much (or anything) to be there (ie: The park, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble). Luckily the guy in this tweet was only creepy and not crazy–but she still had to pretend to sleep through a folk performance!

3) @WhiteGirlWit: I met a guy online, and he took me to @TacoBell and showed me his tattoos of Sonic the Hedgehog and the state of Ohio.

When it comes to dinner dates, any place with a $1 menu is off-limits! Of course there are exceptions: Maybe you know your date has be craving a Happy Meal from his/her childhood, and you thought it would be romantic to go to McDonald’s. But even that scenario is a huge stretch, because bottom line, fast food restaurants rarely, if ever, say “special night.”

4) @vixvixvix: I ate a starter & drank water. He ate 3 courses & drank wine. I joked that we should go halves. He took me seriously, & paid half.

Do not offer to pay half the bill if you obviously do not want to pay any more than the price of an appetizer… And if you’re joking, make that clear–times are hard for everybody! I probably would have taken her seriously too. 2) Men: At the end of the day, most woman expect you to pay for dinner, especially on the first date. I know it may go against the “independent woman” mantra we sometimes preach, but personally I want to be wooed. So if you want to see her again–and don’t want her tweeting about you later that night–PAY!

5) @VeralynMedia: A guy insisted that we sneak into another movie- before our movie started- even though I clearly did not want to.

This is one of mine! Before it happened to me, I would have thought this was a no-brainer, but: Asking a date to break the law, in any way, is a huge no-no! Even if, in your mind, it’s to offset the cost of the $30 you just spent for both of you to see the latest 3D movie.

Do you agree with my assessment of these first date don’ts? Any scary cheap-first-date stories of your own?

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